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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28352475">I've Got You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quickspinner/pseuds/Quickspinner'>Quickspinner</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I’ll Never Not Know You: First Meetings [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:07:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,899</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28352475</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quickspinner/pseuds/Quickspinner</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette's always looked forward to meeting her soulmate, but it wasn't supposed to happen like this.</p><p>Luka wasn't even sure he HAD a soulmate, and wasn't particularly bothered either way, until a chance encounter with a superhero turned his world sideways.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I’ll Never Not Know You: First Meetings [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2276852</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>371</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>LBSCSprintFicChallenge</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I've Got You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyCat1/gifts">LadyCat1</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey LadyCat1, your secret santa had a little bit of a life issue going on so here's one from me to tide you over until they can post! I chose the soulmate AU prompt and I hope you like it!</p><p>This was supposed to be a sprint fic with 45 minutes to write and a day to edit, but I ended up doing 4 15 minute sprints just to get the main idea down, and then I decided there wasn't enough Luka and went back and added it, so now it's 5k words and I join the ranks of the 'I failed at the Sprint Fic Secret Santa by overachieving' club. Oopsie!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She’d dreamed for so long about what her soulmate would be like. Some of her friends had silly words scribed over their hearts, things that made no sense and probably wouldn’t until they met their person. Some of them had commonplace phrases like “Hey, watch it!” or “Hi, how can I help you today?” Some of them were borderline insulting. Alix’s words were “Hey, out of my way!” Marinette wasn’t sure she would have been able to feel good about something like that, but Alix didn’t seem bothered by it. “At least our meeting won’t be boring,” she pointed out.</p><p>Still. Marinette liked her own words better, far better, than any others that had been shared with her. <em> Easy, easy, I’ve got you. </em> </p><p>They sounded...comforting. Supportive. Warm. She couldn’t think, even with all her natural paranoia, of any way those words could be bad. Maybe she was making too much of it, maybe it was only a little thing. Still, she liked the thought that the first time she met her soulmate, they would be helping her, even if only in a small way. </p><p>It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She was supposed to be breathless, but not from hitting the pavement at blinding speed. She was supposed to be disoriented, but not because she had been tossed across half the city by an akuma. She wasn’t supposed to be cold and wet and frightened, and most of all, she wasn’t supposed to be <em> Ladybug </em>.</p><p>But she was, and he’d grabbed her, and when she struck out at him in fear and confusion, he’d caught her hand, and his lips moved, and her chest burned, and the words hidden beneath her suit suddenly felt etched on her skin in fire. </p><p>The arms that cradled her were strong, the hand that wiped the mud off her face was gentle, and the blue eyes staring down at her were as concerned as she could ever have wished for, but—it was all wrong. </p><p>“Are you hurt?” he asked, his hand moving to her chin and tilting her face so that he could look into her eyes. </p><p>She was supposed to answer him. Whatever she said to him in this moment was supposed to be etched over <em> his </em> heart, and she would say it, and he would feel that same—not fire, because it didn’t hurt, not exactly, but that <em> flaring </em> that would tell him that this was no random chance, that <em> she </em> was his soulmate. </p><p>But she couldn’t. She stared dumbly up at him, her throat seizing up in panic even as she clamped her lips tight. It couldn’t happen like this. It couldn’t be like this. She couldn’t say his words, whatever they were, while she was <em> Ladybug </em> . It would ruin everything. It would make things impossible between them. If anyone found out he was <em> Ladybug’s soulmate </em>, then—he’d be in so much danger. They couldn’t see each other, they couldn’t be together, they couldn’t become whatever they were meant to be because...because she was Ladybug, and Ladybug couldn’t afford that kind of weakness. </p><p>“Ladybug?” He frowned, and his hand moved again, brushing her hair back.</p><p>She shook her head violently and pushed at his shoulders. He let go of her, and she scrambled back, getting to her feet shakily. Her eyes darted around, taking in details—the bike discarded on the ground behind him, the color—colors, of his hair, the studs in his ears, his clothes, she had to remember all of this—   </p><p>“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked worriedly. </p><p>Ladybug nodded furiously, and staggered a few more steps away, whipping out her yoyo. The words on her chest burned hotter as she swung away, and then subsided into a tingling kind of numbness. Ladybug blinked back tears and shook her head. She had an akuma to defeat, and then she could worry about what she’d done. </p><p>She barely stayed long enough for their usual fistbump once the battle was over. She found the first secluded place she could think of, transformed, and ran. </p><p>Marinette knew it was useless even as she pelted down the wet streets, her light flats getting soaked as she sloshed through puddle after puddle. It would take a miracle for him to still be there by the time she could get there, but wasn’t meeting your soulmate a miracle in itself? It could happen! She had luck on her side, right? </p><p>Tikki hadn’t said anything about Marinette’s mad flight, just huddled down in Marinette’s purse with her cookie. Marinette mentally apologized for bouncing her around so badly, especially after such a tough fight, but...she had to try. </p><p>But when she skidded to a stop on the corner, there was no one there. The sun was going down and the streetlight shone only on wet, empty pavement. Her soulmate was gone, and so was his bike...and she’d have to find him all over again.</p><p>If she could. Her throat tightened, making it even harder to catch her breath, as it occurred to her that she had no idea what happened when soulmates met and didn’t complete the bond. Would it be as if she had rejected him? Would the cosmic pull that was destined to someday bring them together just...cease? When she met him again, would the words she said still resonate with him, or would it all be ruined because she had held back? Were the words on his heart the ones that she <em> should </em> have said, but didn’t? </p><p>Marinette didn’t know. She’d never heard of anything like this happening before. Sometimes people rejected their soulmates, or chose to live apart from them, but...but the exchange still happened. The bond was still there. They were still complete. </p><p>And Marinette...was not. The hole her soulmate was meant to fill was still there, and she felt all the more conscious of it now. </p><p><em> Remember </em> , she told herself as she walked home in the dark and the cold. Remember his face. Remember his eyes, and his hands, so large against her face. Remember his clothes, his hair. <em> Remember </em>. </p><p>She had to remember. Because she <em> was </em> going to find him again. </p><p>And then...then she’d just have to see what happened from there. She’d have to make a plan. Marinette was good at plans. Marinette was good at doing the impossible. She was going to find her soulmate again, and she was going to fix this, and the universe was just going to have to suck it up. </p><p>One hand drifted up to grip her upper arm, over where his hand had rested as he’d lifted her from the street. She smiled to herself, just a little bit. She’d been right, after all. He was helping her. Supporting her. Even though she was a stranger to him. Even though she was Ladybug, and she was supposed to do things on her own, and even though it was dangerous for him to get involved while she was in the middle of an akuma fight. If Chat hadn’t been able to keep the akuma busy...</p><p>He was brave, she realized. Brave, and kind, and strong, and gentle.</p><p>Marinette had to stop herself before she got too far down that train of thought. It wouldn’t do to build him into something superhuman. That wouldn’t be fair. She wanted to know the real him, and not be blinded by a dream of who she thought he might be. She’d learned that lesson once before, after all. </p><p>Once she was dry and warm and Tikki properly ensconced in a cozy nest of blankets, Marinette sat down at her table and began to draw. She couldn’t afford to forget <em> anything </em>. She was going to find him again, whether the universe decided to help her out or not. </p>
<hr/><p>Luka Couffaine didn’t have a soulmate. </p><p>At least, that’s what the rumors said. There was no soulmark over his heart, and that seemed to be the only conclusion people could come to. </p><p>Luka had never been bothered by it, in all truth. He himself was well aware that there were many ways to communicate that didn’t involve words, though it never seemed to occur to anyone else. Privately he thought it entirely likely that his soulmate was a fellow musician, and that their first exchange might involve something far more expressive than mere words. Or maybe not; maybe it would be in the touch of their hands, or the meeting of their eyes. Maybe they would just <em> know </em>, and stand looking at each other in wonder. Maybe his soulmate had a physical issue that would prevent them from speaking. From time to time he watched video tutorials to learn signs that might be useful if it were so. </p><p>Mostly, though, he just went on with life, and didn’t worry about it too hard. He was young, and there was plenty of living to be done even without a soulmate. The rumors irritated him far more than the idea that he might have been born a whole soul in a single body. </p><p>He’d lived for seventeen years that way, and neither expected nor especially wished for a change, until he picked up an extra shift on a delivery route he didn’t usually ride, and the city’s beloved superhero crashed through a planter and faceplanted on the street in front of him.</p><p>Luka wasn’t even thinking when he shoved off his helmet and ran to her, dropping his bike on the sidewalk. After a slide like that, she should have been shredded, but when he helped her roll over and sit up, her skin was whole, though smeared with muddy water. She flailed at him blindly and he almost dropped her, startled by her strength when her hand hit his chest.  </p><p>“Easy, easy,” Luka told her, catching that hand, “I’ve got you.” She stilled—froze, almost, and her expression was still dazed. No wonder, after a hit like that. Luka wiped away a smear of mud under her eye, but she didn’t move, just pressed her lips tight and stared at him. She was so pale. </p><p>“Are you hurt?” Luka put his fingers under her chin and tilted her face up so that he could see her eyes. They were even and seemed to be dilating normally. Where was Chat, he wondered with a sudden, irrational irritation. Sounds of battle in the distance answered him. At least Chat was keeping the thing busy, then, while Ladybug...recovered?</p><p>She was still just staring up at him, and he frowned, brushing her hair back to check for a bump or a bruise. “Ladybug?” </p><p>She shook her head and pushed at his shoulders, and he let her go, watching as she stumbled to her feet, his hands still hovering uncertainly in the air as he watched her. He...didn’t want her to go, and that didn’t make any sense because of course she had to go. <em> It’s not right </em> , he realized suddenly. <em> It’s not right that she has to do all of this—why should it be her? She can barely stand and she’s about to run back into the fight. </em></p><p>“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, fighting the urge to take hold of her again. </p><p>She nodded, and before he could say anything else she was swinging back to the battle. He actually ran a few steps after her before his brain caught up with his body. What was he doing? </p><p>Luka turned and went slowly back to his bike. His chest felt funny where she’d hit him before he caught her hands. <em> She didn’t say a word </em>, he thought, turning and looking back towards where she’d gone. </p><p>His sigh of relief was more fervent than usual when the magical ladybugs swept through the city, and over Luka. She would be okay now, he was sure. Luka was most of the way home, having walked his bike as he found himself lost in a swirl of thoughts that didn’t want to condense into any kind of sense. Luka looked down on himself in amusement, his hand smoothing over the place on his chest that had been smeared with mud from her hand. His shirt was clean, now. He glanced up. “You didn’t have to bother,” he murmured. “But...thanks.” </p><p>It wasn’t until he was getting ready for bed that night that he saw it. It was just a chance glance as he was walking out of the bathroom, halfway through pulling on a fresh shirt. He saw something in the mirror and turned to look at it instinctively. His jaw dropped, and he leaned towards the mirror, wiping away the fog with his hand to get a clearer look. </p><p>There were words on his chest, right over his heart, in the distinctive silver-grey of a soulmate marking. </p>
<hr/><p>Determination, Marinette thought tiredly, could really only get you so far. She’d done her best but, she just had so little to go on. She knew what he looked like, but it wasn’t like she could mentally beam his image into the internet and find his address. </p><p>Well. Maybe she could have if she asked Max and Markov for help, but...how would she explain that? How could she explain that she’d met her soulmate, she’d <em> known </em> it was him, but somehow she’d managed not to find out who he was. How ridiculous did that sound? No, she couldn’t tell anybody or ask anybody for help. She tried to console herself with reminders of how unlikely it was that any of her friends knew him anyway...but it really didn’t make the problem any less frustrating. </p><p>She found herself circling back to that same cross street where she’d met him. It was the only lead Marinette had, but there wasn’t much there. It was a residential street, so maybe he lived here, but she couldn’t exactly go knocking on doors telling people that she was looking for her soulmate. If he did live here, surely she’d see him, right? </p><p>Feeling a bit like a stalker, she parked herself on a bench the following Saturday with her sketchbook in her lap, watching the people that passed her on the street and any figures visible in the windows of the houses. All she got was a sunburn and some odd looks from a couple of people who passed her both in the morning and the evening as they went out to walk their dogs. She went home and lay on her bed moaning in frustration and embarrassment as Tikki sympathetically applied aloe to her face with little pats. </p><p>“It’ll be okay, Marinette,” the little god told her, but Tikki had already admitted that her powers were entirely separate from the mystery of soulbonds, and she couldn’t really help Marinette beyond lending a little ordinary luck. </p><p>Nobody knew better than Marinette that the surest way to sabotage luck was to count on it, though, so she carried on as she otherwise would. Marinette pulled out her sketch, and stared at the face again. Okay, so maybe he didn’t live at that intersection. Maybe he lived further down, or something like that, and this place was on his route home. </p><p>It took a little ingenuity and closer to an outright lie than she was really comfortable with, but Marinette managed to get out of school early and go back to the intersection. He couldn’t be that much older than she was; possibly he passed this place on his way home from school or a part time job. </p><p>That didn’t work out any better than the last attempt, and Marinette was sure at least one person had recognized her from her last visit. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to be having a very awkward conversation with Officer Roger, she was sure. At least she remembered to wear sunscreen this time. </p><p>Still determined, Marinette drew up an elaborate schedule, gridding out the most likely dates and times to catch him coming through. She plotted bike routes along the area from several local schools and the types of businesses that hired student-age part-timers. She changed up her style and her dress so that she wasn’t so recognizable. </p><p>Nearly a month later, she still had nothing. Her friends had long ago begun questioning her bizarre behavior, and more than one had been dragged along on Marinette’s expeditions with increasingly weak excuses, and now her <em> parents </em> were starting to ask questions. Marinette wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep this up, and...she wasn’t sure how much good it would do anyway. She’d covered almost every possibility—certainly every <em> likely </em> possibility, and most of the less likely options, too. Marinette didn’t want to admit it, but she was running out of ideas. </p>
<hr/><p>Luka kept his new mark hidden from everyone, even his family. He wasn’t sure what had happened to put it there, and he had no idea how to explain it. He kept thinking that it had to have something to do with that encounter with Ladybug, but…</p><p>Luka knew very little about whatever mystical force was behind the soul bonds, but he knew even less about Ladybug and her powers. And if it was her, did it happen when she touched him? Her hand had been splayed across his chest right there. He remembered it feeling weird, but he thought that had been because she hit him. She was strong, after all and might have—probably had?—magic that enhanced her fighting somehow, so it wasn’t surprising that a hit to the chest from her might sting a little bit. Though it hadn’t <em> hurt </em>, exactly, but then he hadn’t really been paying attention. </p><p>Or was it the magic of the ladybugs? Was there something wrong with him after all, that they had repaired when they cleaned his shirt? Or did it have nothing to do with her powers at all, and it really was just coincidence? He hadn’t been looking at himself all day. He was pretty sure it hadn’t been there at gym class—surely one of his nosy classmates would have noticed, since they frequently snuck glances at his unmarked chest the same way they would if he had a third nipple or some other anatomical anomaly, but it could easily have appeared any time after that. Luka couldn’t imagine what could have triggered such a thing, though. </p><p>Unless he had maybe...not met his soulmate, surely that would be unmistakable from everything he’d heard, but...gotten near her somehow? Passed her or touched her or looked at her without knowing. Luka was usually an observant guy, but when he got in his head, he didn’t always register exactly what was going on around him. Maybe he had had an encounter like that, that he didn’t notice or remember, and the universe was frustrated with him and decided to give him a hand.</p><p>That didn’t really make sense either, though. </p><p>Luka knew he couldn’t keep this a secret forever, no matter how much he wanted to, but he was going to do his best. Some discretion and a little tattoo coverup should do it. It just...felt private, those words, and he found he was self-conscious about it in a way that he hadn’t been about his unmarked chest. Luka wondered how people could go around letting something like that show all the time. </p><p>More than that, he wondered what he should do about it. </p><p>Although, he considered, as he stared into his bathroom mirror again...looking at his words, maybe he wouldn’t need to do anything. </p>
<hr/><p>Marinette stood there on that same corner, <em> again </em>, fighting back tears of frustration, staring at the spot where his bike had fallen when he met her. Was it even his bike? She’d thought it had been, but maybe it wasn’t. Her memories of that night were worn with frequent handling and she was starting to question everything she thought she’d seen that night. Marinette knew it had happened—the words on her chest that had once been grey and dull were a vibrant blue, so she couldn’t have imagined the whole thing...but she was starting to feel doubtful on the details. </p><p><em> This isn’t fair, </em> she thought furiously at the universe. <em> This wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Maybe I messed up, but I had good reasons! You’d think I’d earned a second chance, with all I’ve been through! </em> Marinette blinked back frustrated tears and turned abruptly away, knuckles white on the straps of her pink backpack, eyes squeezed shut against the tears, so that she didn’t see the bike parked on the street in front of the steps of the townhome she was about to pass. </p>
<hr/><p>Luka hated this route and avoided it whenever he could, but today he didn’t have a choice if he wanted to work. It was hilly and the cobblestones were uneven, taking most of the pleasure out of the ride itself, and to top it off, the people who usually ordered from here were rude. The irritation on top of his confusion about his soulmate...situation, which had lasted for a month now with no signs of resolution, made him impatient to be done and shorter than usual with the customers, though he managed not to be completely rude. </p><p>He was clattering his way down the steps when he collided with something—shit, with <em> someone </em>. Luka grabbed at her as she pitched sideways from the force of the impact, trying to at least keep the petite woman from hitting the pavement due to his stupidity. </p><p>Marinette was caught completely off guard. A wordless screech escaped her and she pushed away on reflex as hands grabbed at her, but she was off balance and her feet were tangled and she was going to fall— </p><p>“Easy, easy, I’ve got you,” said a voice that sounded like an echo out of her memory, except it was real and loud in her ear and so startling that she stopped struggling. The stranger who had, apparently, both collided with her and stopped her fall had an arm looped around her waist, and he gently pulled her upright. She found her feet as she looked up at him and his hands moved to her upper arms in a familiar grip. Marinette’s heart was pounding in her ears. </p><p>He was wearing a bright yellow bike helmet, but she could see the dark, blue-tipped hair sticking out from under it, and the expression of concern, the gentleness in the blue eyes, were all exactly the same. “I’m so sorry, I was thinking about something else and I didn’t see you. Are you all right?”</p><p>Marinette looked up at him, still speechless. He frowned. “You’re crying,” he said, his voice full of compassion. “Is everything all right? Do you need help?” </p><p>Marinette shook her head slightly, her mouth moving silently. <em> Say something! </em>she screamed inside her mind, but she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know the right answer, and this wasn’t a test she could afford to fail. Some distant part of her mind noted that she hadn’t gotten the details wrong at all. His sharp chin, the line of his jaw, the—</p><p>
  <em> Say something! </em>
</p><p>“I’ve been looking for you,” she blurted, and then covered her mouth with her hand. Whatever she was supposed to say, surely it wasn’t— </p><p>But his eyes had gone wide, and his hand left her arm to clutch his shirt over his heart, and he was breathing faster. Marinette couldn’t help the smile that burst across her face. “I found you,” she said softly. </p><p>It was...such a strange feeling, some detached part of Luka’s brain observed. Like he’d lived his whole life in that brief moment of expectant silence right before the curtain rose and the music burst forth, only he’d never known it until now. He felt dizzy with the sudden rush, the burning on his chest barely registering. </p><p>He kind of wanted to smack himself for ever thinking he’d been whole before.</p><p>Without thinking, he pulled her close and held her tight against him. “I wasn’t even sure you existed,” Luka mumbled wonderingly into her hair. Slowly, Marinette put her shaking arms around him. Once she had, she couldn’t make herself let go; her hands fisted tight on the back of his shirt and she pressed her face close. “I didn’t have any words,” he whispered, so low he would have been inaudible. “Until...something happened, a few weeks ago. I didn’t have any words, and then one day I did, and...you know what I mean, don’t you? What happened to me? You have to know. It was you, wasn’t it?” </p><p>Marinette froze. “I—” She couldn’t go on, mind whirling with all the reasons she shouldn’t tell him, shouldn’t admit it, and with all the reasons she should, until she was paralyzed. </p><p>Luka realized he was being an idiot. He had no right to that knowledge. Soulmate or not, they had just met, she didn’t know anything about him, and he’d just put her on the spot for what must have been a closely held secret. How many times had he seen her on the news, pleading with the public not to put her family and friends in danger by trying to discover her identity. </p><p>“Never mind,” he said quickly. “It’s not important. I have words now, and you said them, and…what’s your name? I don’t even know your name.” He laughed a little shakily. “This whole thing is so crazy.” </p><p>“Marinette,” she gasped, pulling away enough to look at him. “My name is Marinette.” </p><p>“Marinette,” he said, and smiled. It sounded like music when he said it, somehow. “Nice to meet you, Marinette. I’m Luka. I’m…” What was the right thing to say in this situation? “I’m really looking forward to knowing you.” </p><p>Marinette was blinking back tears again. “Me too. But can we just...can we stay like this a little bit longer?” </p><p>“Yeah,” Luka said, pulling her back in. “Yeah. But…” He grinned, nuzzling his face into her hair. “Only a minute,” he chuckled, “and then I really need to get your number, because I’m working right now and I’ll be late to my next delivery.”</p><p>“Delivery,” Marinette repeated giddily. “You make deliveries.” There was a hysterical edge to her laughter.</p><p>“I was doing my last delivery of the night when—the night the words showed up,” Luka told her. “This is the first time I’ve been back on this route since...I can’t believe I met you here.” </p><p>Marinette dissolved into definitely hysterical laughter, that had Luka holding her tightly, murmuring words of concern she didn’t quite catch. When she had herself under control again, she pushed him back lightly, and rose up on her toes to kiss his cheek. That simple little touch brought heat to his cheeks.  “Give me your phone,” she told him as she came back down, her own smile growing at the grin he was clearly fighting to contain. “I’m not losing you again.” </p><p>They traded phones quickly, and entered their information, both grinning like idiots. She was really cute, Luka thought, stealing glances at her as he typed. He caught her sneaking a look at him too and they both grinned sheepishly at each other, giggling as they went back to what they were supposed to be doing. Their eyes met again as they passed their phones back and impulsively, Luka caught Marinette’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “I have to go,” he said with a sigh, though he was still smiling—couldn’t seem to stop, in fact. “I’ll text you tonight?” </p><p>Marinette nodded. “Be careful,” she told him, and immediately felt stupid, because of course he’d been doing this for far longer than she’d known him and he presumably knew what he was doing. “I mean...well, I know you know what you’re doing, but still. Be safe. I just found you.” </p><p>Luka smiled as he stepped past her, letting her hand slide reluctantly out of his. “Don’t worry, I’ll get home in one piece,” he promised. He kicked up the stand of the bike before slinging his leg over it. “I’ve got you now, and I’m not letting you go.” He gave her a wink, and then pushed off, though he nearly made his promise a lie as he looked back at her and almost collided with a streetlight. It was almost worth the embarrassment to hear Marinette’s giggle floating after him, though. He grinned to himself, putting one hand over his heart.</p><p><em> I’ve been looking for you. </em> </p><p>He was so glad she hadn’t given up on him. </p><p>Marinette covered another giggle with her hand, and started on her own way home, giddy with relief and tense with anticipation. She put her hand over her heart, over the words there that felt like they were faintly pulsing, though she wasn’t sure if that was true or if it was just the way her heart was pounding. She looked down at her purse to see Tikki peeking up at her, clapping her little flipper paws excitedly.</p><p>Maybe Marinette couldn’t tell him just yet, but...maybe the universe knew what it was doing after all. Maybe it was good that they met this way. She didn’t have to tell him, and they could pretend he didn’t know, but…</p><p><em> I’ve got you </em>. </p><p>It felt good to know that someone did.</p>
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